Paymo vs Worklenz (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Worklenz grades higher than Paymo: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Paymo grades higher on features and platforms. Worklenz grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Paymo
Project management with time tracking and client invoicing
Worklenz
Project and time tracking for agencies, with a self-host option
Which one is for you
Pick Paymo if
- Fits if you're a freelancer billing clients for tracked time, within 3 clients and 5 projects on Solo
- Works for agencies and consultancies that track time and invoice from one tool
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want Gantt charts, dependencies, team scheduling or leave planning, which are only on Pro at $16.9 a user a month billed annually
- Tight if you're staying free, with 1 user, 1 client, 2 projects, 1 GB and the list view only
- Skip it if you don't bill clients, because the time tracking and invoicing are what you're paying for
- Watch out: adding a teammate means Plus at $10.9 a user, which is also where integrations and the API start
- Watch out: monthly billing costs more, $9.9, $15.9 and $23.9 against $5.9, $10.9 and $16.9 on annual billing
Pick Worklenz if
- Fits if you run an agency and want time tracked against projects
- Works for teams that want the option to host the tool themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as the plan stops at 5 members, 3 projects and 1 GB
- Pricey if you need the client portal, invoices or Gantt editing, which are Business at $10 yearly
- Watch out: time tracking is not on the free plan
- Watch out: self-hosted Business editions have no published price and the plugin marketplace is listed as coming soon
- Skip it if you want many integrations, as only Slack and Zapier are listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPaymoFair | 2.6GPAWorklenzGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DSolo is $5.9 a month billed annually, but that's 1 user and 5 projects. The moment you're a team it's Plus at $10.9 a user, past the dear end of this category, and Gantt charts, dependencies and scheduling need Pro at $16.9. Pay monthly and it's $15.9 and $23.9. | BPro is $6 per active user a month billed annually, the cheaper quarter's starting figure. Business is $10 yearly. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree gives one person unlimited tasks, time tracking and invoices with the desktop and mobile apps. The caps are the problem: 1 client, 2 projects, 1 GB and the task list view only. Paid plans get a 15-day trial with no card. | BFree plan: up to 5 members, 3 active projects and 1 GB. There is also a free self-hosted Community edition. |
| Features | BTime logged by stopwatch, in bulk or automatically by the desktop app, then turned into invoices, with tasks as lists, calendars, Kanban, spreadsheets or Gantt charts, plus estimates, expenses, proofing and profitability on Plus and scheduling and leave on Pro. The job and the billing both covered. | CTasks, Kanban, time tracking, workload and a Gantt view. Pro has read-only Gantt, with editing, the client portal and invoices on Business. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Tracked time flowing straight into timesheets and invoices saves real retyping, but you set up the clients, projects and templates yourself, and working out which view sits on which of four plans takes a while. | CNo store rating on record. You set up projects and teams, and the self-hosted edition adds server work. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, which is everything, and a desktop app that tracks time by itself. It connects to Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, QuickBooks Online, Zapier, Make and Typeform, though integrations and the API start on Plus. | BWeb, iOS and Android apps with Slack and Zapier. No desktop app. |
| Best for | tracking time and invoicing clients | agency project and time tracking, hosted or self-hosted |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Paymo and Worklenz. How we grade
Price against what you get
Paymo starts at $5.90 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Worklenz starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Paymo scores higher and starts $0.10 a month lower. Of the other project management tools on the chart, none scores higher than Paymo for less, and 16 score higher than Worklenz for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Worklenz is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Paymo also covers Pomodoro timer and invoicing.
- Worklenz also covers templates.
At a glance
| Paymo | Worklenz | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5.9 per month, billed annually (Solo, 1 user) | $6 per active user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free plan for 1 user: 1 client, 2 projects, unlimited tasks, time tracking and invoices, the task list view, desktop and mobile apps, and 1 GB of storage. | Up to 5 team members and 3 active projects, with task lists, Kanban boards, templates and mobile access. |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial of a paid plan, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of paid plans, no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Paymo LLC | Worklenz |
| Price read from | paymoapp.com | worklenz.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Paymo
- Free and Solo are limited to 1 user, with 2 and 5 projects respectively. Adding teammates means moving to Plus or Pro.
- Gantt charts, task dependencies, team scheduling, timesheet approvals and leave management are on the Pro plan only.
- Integrations and API access start at the Plus plan.
- Monthly billing costs more: $9.9, $15.9 and $23.9 against $5.9, $10.9 and $16.9 on annual billing.
Worklenz
- The Free plan stops at 5 team members, 3 active projects and 1 GB of storage.
- Time tracking needs Pro; the client portal, invoices and project finance need Business.
- Pro includes only read-only Gantt and scheduler views; editing is a Business feature.
- Self-hosted Business editions have no published price, and the plugin marketplace is listed as coming soon.
Key features
Paymo
- Time tracking
- Time is logged with a stopwatch, as intervals or in bulk. The Paymo Track desktop app can also record time spent in desktop apps automatically and includes a Pomodoro mode.
- Task views
- The task list view is on every plan. Calendar and Kanban views start on Solo, the spreadsheet view and cross-project Meta Kanban on Plus, and the Gantt chart on Pro.
- Invoicing, estimates and expenses
- Timesheet data can be turned into invoices, which are unlimited on every plan. Estimates, expenses and recurring invoices are added on Plus.
- Team scheduling and leave
- The Pro plan adds employee scheduling, a workload view, automatic ghost bookings and employee leave management.
- Project profitability and templates
- From the Plus plan, projects can be created from templates and their profitability tracked. Flat-rate and retainer project types start on Solo.
- File proofing and versioning
- Files can be reviewed and versioned inside Paymo from the Plus plan, which also raises storage to 50 GB.
Worklenz
- Tasks and Kanban boards
- Projects hold task lists and Kanban boards with sub-tasks, labels, priorities, custom fields on paid plans, and recurring tasks.
- Time tracking and timesheets
- A live timer or manual entries log hours against tasks, with reports comparing estimated and actual time per project and per member. Paid plans only.
- Resource scheduling and workload
- A scheduler plans tasks around each member's capacity, and a workload view shows utilization. Full editing of the scheduler needs the Business plan.
- Client portal and project finance
- The Business plan lets clients see project progress, tracks budgets and billable hours, and creates client invoices.
- Gantt and project roadmap
- A timeline view shows task dependencies and phases. The Pro plan gives read-only access, and editing is part of Business.
- Self-hosted edition
- A free Community edition runs on your own infrastructure with unlimited users. Paid self-hosted editions are priced through sales.
Plans
Paymo
Free$0
1 user, 1 client and 2 projects with unlimited tasks, time tracking and invoices, the task list view and 1 GB of storage.
Solo$5.9
per month, billed annually ($9.9 billed monthly)
1 user, 3 clients and 5 projects. Adds calendar and Kanban task views, flat-rate and retainer projects, guest access, in-app support and 5 GB of storage.
Plus$10.9
per user / month, billed annually ($15.9 billed monthly)
Unlimited users, clients and projects. Adds spreadsheet view, recurring tasks, timesheet reports, estimates, expenses, proofing, integrations, API access and 50 GB.
Pro$16.9
per user / month, billed annually ($23.9 billed monthly)
Adds Gantt charts, task dependencies, employee scheduling and workload, timesheet approvals, leave management, priority support and 500 GB of storage.
Worklenz
Free$0
Up to 5 team members, 3 active projects, 1 GB storage, task lists and Kanban boards.
Pro$6
per active user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
No cap on members or projects, time tracking and timesheets, workload view, 3 guests per project, read-only Gantt. 5 GB storage.
Business$10
per active user / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Adds client portal, project finance and invoices, full Gantt and scheduler editing, advanced reports, unlimited guests. 25 GB storage.
Community (self-hosted)$0
Open-source edition you host yourself: unlimited users, core task management, community support only.
Ways to pay less
Paymo
- Annual discount
Up to 40% off with annual billing
Paymo's pricing FAQ puts the saving from yearly payment at up to 40%. Solo is $5.9 instead of $9.9 a month, Plus $10.9 instead of $15.9 and Pro $16.9 instead of $23.9 per user.
- Other savings
Reduced first 3 months on monthly plans
A Special Autumn Offer gives accounts created after September 25, 2026 up to 40% off the first three months of monthly billing: $5.9 Solo, $10.9 Plus and $16.9 Pro. The page gives no end date.
- Education
Half price for schools and universities
Paymo offers universities, colleges and schools its plans at half price. The offer is activated by contacting the company after signing up and cannot be combined with other promotions.
Worklenz
- Lifetime license
Business plan lifetime deal, $79 per code
Each $79 one-time code gives 5 seats and 5 GB on the Business plan with future updates; up to 10 codes can be stacked.
- Annual discount
3 months free on Pro, 2 months on Business, billed yearly
Pro costs $72 and Business $120 per active user per year, against $96 and $144 on monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Paymo or Worklenz?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Paymo starts at $5.9 per month, billed annually (Solo, 1 user), and Worklenz starts at $6 per active user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Paymo or Worklenz?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Paymo and Worklenz have a free plan.
Which platforms do Paymo and Worklenz run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Paymo lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.